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attention and, coming through the door-
way of the mind, they eventually realize
they have a body that is going to be either
an obstacle or a support. Both directions
point to their opposite.”
As for her personal path of discov-
ery, bringing together her metaphysical
readings and yoga as a physical disci-
pline seemed like an easier combination
than sitting down and facing her own
mind. “While doing asana,” she says, “I
was readying myself for meditation.”
When she felt the time was right, Powers
did a retreat with students of the vipas-
sana meditation teacher Goenka.
In the same way she’d been surprised
by how difficult yoga was, Powers now
had to come to grips with how difficult
long meditation sessions were. Indeed,
she found this first Goenka-style retreat
one of the most challenging things she’d
ever done, not because her mind was
distracted—she’d expected that—but
because the practice was so physically ar-
duous. She realized that her yoga practice
had been oriented around feeling com-
fortable. She’d find a pose and, as soon as
it became uncomfortable, she’d move to
the next. To sit for hours without trying
to improve the posture through move-
ment or visualization was a whole differ-
ent matter. And it was life-changing.
Powers did three more Goenka-style
retreats; she did vipassana retreats with
Spirit Rock teachers, and she went to Bur-
ma to do a retreat there. Eventually, she
delved into Zen and Tibetan Buddhism.
“My meditation practice continually
helps me discover greater potential for
seeing and listening in a way that’s more
aligned with deeper truths, rather than
my conditioning,” Powers says. “That see-
ing and listening informs every moment,
so my yoga practice is much richer.”
WhIlE PoWERS WAS developing her
practice, she and her husband were also
raising their daughter, Imani Jade, who
is now sixteen. “I wasn’t willing to spend
too much time away from her,” Powers
says. “Ty and I were home-schooling
her, so we would relieve each other for
short periods to go off on retreat.” one of
the reasons the couple decided on home
schooling was because, when Imani Jade
was five, they started traveling in order
to give yoga workshops—something they
continue doing today throughout the
United States, Asia, and Europe.
Until Imani Jade was fifteen, the family
went everywhere together. In hotel rooms,
trains, planes, and waiting rooms, they’d
read and discuss. Then Imani Jade would
write a paper. To allow her to develop her so-
cial skills, the family tried to spend one sea-
son a year at home in California. Imani Jade
would take classes at junior college (starting
at age twelve) or she’d be in a play, or take
dance classes. With her education tailored to
her pace and interests, Imani Jade whizzed
through her elementary and secondary edu-
cation, and is currently studying history and
dance at a college in the New York area.
“Ty and I are all alone again, like we were
before we had her,” Powers says, her voice
carrying a hint of empty-nest syndrome.
The couple has been together for twenty-
seven years. They frequently co-teach yoga
retreats, and Ty Powers is their manager.
“I’m curious,” I say, “about those juicy
conversations you two have about mean-
ing. What’s Ty’s take?”
“It’s constantly evolving,” Powers tells
me. “Yet I’d say what’s meaningful to him
is constantly broadening his capacity for
inclusiveness. It’s having an uncompro-
mising love and compassion for family—
no matter how they are—and extending
that love to the human family.”
“And what about you?” I ask. “What do
you think makes life meaningful?”
“one of the reasons we’ve been together
so long is that we’re aligned. For me, what’s
meaningful is interconnectedness. Where
do I feel split, whether it’s within me, in my
psyche, or between me and an event or a
person? What’s meaningful is the pain and
the suffering of that, and seeing the healing.
“What’s meaningful,” Powers says, “is
discovering a capacity for renewed fresh-
ness and continual insight.” ♦
Sarah Powers continued from page 53
For resources and further reading on Yoga and
Buddhism, go to www.shambhalasun.com.